Where have we been able to vote on the update and release date?

[Tazykat]

I have been unable to playtest this as I am involved with a game where people are still using Classic and haven't updated to Unity as they weren't in the playtest. Also I am waiting to update to macOS Catalina for this as well. Why is everyone voting for such a late release date? Surely we can get going and fix it now on the fly instead of having to wait? I am unable to playtest as we can't invite non kickstarters into our games.

[LordEntrails]

There appear to be several issues you are addressing. Let me guess at what they are;

Voting for a 2020 release date? That's because people think it's best that the software actually works when it is released. Many people don't understand what "Beta Software" means. One thing it means it that it should not be expected to run as intended, simply meaning it will break, crash and have bugs.

"Fix it now and not have to wait".. Yea, that's just not how things work. The developers are pushing multiple new builds per week. So if it was just a matter of changing one line of code and everything would be perfect, it would already be done. But, FGU probably has a million lines of code, or a hundred million lines (when you account for all the rulesets and DLC). But in any which way, it's not an easy matter.

You are not supposed to be able to play test yet. Despite numerous threads, announcements and proclamations that FGU is not yet ready for game play, people keep wanting it to be ready for such. It is not.

If you want to know what is expected to work, and what is known to not yet work (because it might be "bugged" or not yet implemented or turned off because its not working), then please read the stickied threads at the top of this forum.

Just to reiterate, FGU is not ready for play test, it is ready for beta testing of GM type functions. When it is ready for beta level play testing then it will be announced and FGU Ultimate license holders will be able to host free players, but not until it is ready for that.

[Tazykat]

Don't ever guess. Where was the voting? I was not made aware of any vote. this project has easily achieved its goal cash target and has over half a million USD pledged to it. I am sorry if I am not sympathetic but I and no doubt others are frustrated that I can't now do anything with my games, campaigns or with the software. I can't run games. I can't run any DM stuff. Or can I? Please help me so that I don't just come off as a disgruntled backer and supporter of Fantasy grounds. Am I able to swap in between licenses? Can I activate one and then run again and change the license over? Or am I stuck in the beta. I want to be able to help but with little contact and information I am just getting grumpier and grumpier. Admittedly I was in hospital for several weeks and this has compounded what I am feeling.

[ddavison]

The vote is here under the forum. Look for the poll icon:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?52185-Poll-Early-Access-or-Pre-Sale-in-December

Both of your other issues - ability to run on Mac and ability to invite your players to join your games even if they didn't back the KS will be dealt with very soon. We will be posting more about these in this week's Kickstarter Updates. If you were in the Kickstarter, the best place for news are the KS updates for the project and the FGU Playtest forum here.

[Trenloe]

Where was the voting?
Here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?52185-Poll-Early-Access-or-Pre-Sale-in-December

This was linked in the most recent Kickstarter update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smiteworks/fantasy-grounds-unity/posts/2691604. Kickstarter updates are always the best place to get summary information regarding the project.

[LordEntrails]

The voting was several weeks ago and was done in this thread; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?52185-Poll-Early-Access-or-Pre-Sale-in-December. As you can see, more than 3/4 of the people thought it was better to wait rather than to release it in its current state or through some sort of Early Access approach.

You are frustrated "that I can't now do anything with my games, campaigns or with the software" Except why would you think you could/should? The stated goal of the KS was for a hoped for release in December with Beta access sometime before that. It is still December right? BUT, the schedule has slipped and SmiteWorks is now looking at a first quarter 2020 estimate for release. Such schedule slips are not uncommon in software development (though never desired). Beta access is available (and has been for a bit).

Perhaps you thought that Beta access would mean the software would be near fully functional and you could play live games with it? You are not the only one who has expected/wanted that, but SmiteWorks has repeatedly tried to clarify that no, that is in no way what was intended for Beta testing. Don't know what to tell you about a disconnect in expectations.

But, right now you can use the software for beta testing. This mean you can learn line of sight and effects, you can practice transferring campaigns over. You can run things on your own or with other Beta backers to test out and report on any functionality you want. Though do be aware that not everything has yet been implemented. See;
- https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?50373-FGU-Playtest-Overview
- https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?50554-FGU-Playtest-Developer-Considerations

And their are many known issues, see;
- https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?50483-FGU-Playtest-Known-Items
- https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?51772-FGU-Playtest-Updates

Now, as for testing with your group, the latest KS update stated the goal is for this to be opened up for FGU Ultimate backers on December 3rd. Again, that is a goal, not a promise.

And, for those on you on Macs, it has been stated that the Mac build is in initial internal testing, and is expected to be release to the backers sometime next week (no specific date I can remember).

Progress is being made. Hopefully this can help clarify expectations.

[deer_buster]

Personally, from a functionality standpoint, FGU should still be in Alpha. Beta should be reserved for a mostly functional software.

[LordEntrails]

Personally, from a functionality standpoint, FGU should still be in Alpha. Beta should be reserved for a mostly functional software.
Perhaps, but it depends upon what definitions and connotations you put on alpha and beta. And what it is called really doesn't matter. Regardless, FGU is where it is, what ever it should be called, it is in a state that is available for Kickstarter backers to test. It is not fully functional or quite ready for "game play" type testing. It has both known and unknown bugs and not all intended features are yet functional.

[esmdev]

I'm happy with FGC. It runs my 2E and MGT2 games just fine. I don't have connectivity problems with any of my players and I've gotten pretty good at memory management.

I have 3 FGU licenses and will eventually make the switch. I see FGU as "YAY, NEW STUFFS!", but not really anything that I can't live without. So I am totally happy waiting for the solid version over the "OMG, WHERE DID MY CAMPAIGN GO!", version. :)

[Charlezard]

So what was the updated release date since (presumably) December is missed, and the community voted for a full release instead of early access? I cant see the kickstarter page updates since it was closed to new backers once it hit the December target date. =(

[Zacchaeus]

So what was the updated release date since (presumably) December is missed, and the community voted for a full release instead of early access? I cant see the kickstarter page updates since it was closed to new backers once it hit the December target date. =(

First quarter 2020.